Since the late-1990s, numerous ridematching programs have integrated the Internet, mobile phones, and social networking into their services. Online ridematching systems are employing a range of new strategies to create “critical mass:” 1) regional and large employer partnerships, 2) financial incentives, 3) social networking to younger populations, and 4) real-time ridematching services that employ “smartphones” and automated ridematching software. Enhanced casual carpooling approaches, which focus on “meeting places,” are also being explored. Today, ridesharing represents approximately 8...
Growing concerns over global motorization and climate change have led to increasing interest in sustainable transportation alternatives, such as bikesharing (the shared use of a bicycle fleet). Since 1965, bikesharing has grown across the globe on four continents including: Europe, North America, South America, and Asia (including Australia). Today, there are approximately 100 bikesharing programs operating in an estimated 125 cities around the world with over 139,300 bicycles. Bikesharing’s evolution is categorized into three generations: 1) White Bikes (or Free Bike Systems); 2) Coin-...
Recent wildfire risks in California have prompted the implementation of public safety power shutoff (PSPS) events, procedures enacted by utility operators to de-energize parts of the electrical grid and reduce the likelihood of wildfire ignition. Despite their yearly occurrence, PSPS events are severely understudied, and little is known about how these events impact disaster preparation activity, travel behavior, and transportation systems. With growing wildfire risks in North America and beyond, PSPS events require immediate and thorough research to reduce their negative externalities and...
Shared-use vehicle services provide members access to a vehicle fleet for use on an as needed basis, without the hassles and costs of individual auto ownership. From June 2001 to July 2002, the authors surveyed 18 U.S. shared-use vehicle organizations on a range of topics, including organizational size, partnerships, pricing, costs, and technology. While survey findings demonstrate a decline in the number of organizational starts in the last year, operational launches into new cities, membership, and fleet size continue to increase. Several growth-oriented organizations are responsible for...
In the past five years, commercial vehicle travel has increased 60 percent on California’s highways, without a corresponding increase in compliance inspection station capacity or enforcement officers. Commercial vehicles that do not comply with regulations impose significant public costs including, for example, pavement and structure damage to roads and catastrophic crashes. In response to these problems, the California Department of Transportation is investigating the potential application of detection and communication technology in virtual compliance stations (VCS) to cost-effectively...
This paper advances the understanding of peer-to-peer (P2P) carsharing within the broader context of shared mobility and its connection to the built environment in the US through a survey conducted in 2014 (n = 1,151). Eleven per cent of respondents used carpooling/ridesharing more, and 19% avoided a vehicle purchase due to P2P vehicle access in urban areas. Nevertheless, P2P carsharing has the potential to operate in a range of land-use environments and could be an important strategy to further deemphasize car ownership. Additionally, as the deployment of automated...
Transportation is a major contributor of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. It accounts for approximately 14% of total anthropogenic emissions globally and about 27% in the United States. Growing concern regarding the impacts of climate change and greenhouse gas emissions has led to innovations in automotive and fueltechnology. However, behavioral response to the newest transportation technologies, such as hydrogen fuel cell vehicles (FCVs) and fueling infrastructure, is not well understood. This paper examines the results of an exploratory F-Cell...